Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral
HDFC Bank Group successfully concluded the fourth edition of HDFC Tech Innovators 2025, marking another milestone in its commitment to strengthening India’s startup ecosystem. The event honoured ten winning startups across six sectors and awarded two special recognitions to emerging women founders. This year’s edition saw remarkable national participation, with over 1,600 startups applying from more than 290 cities across the country, reflecting the rapid growth and expanding reach of India’s innovation landscape.
HDFC Tech Innovators 2025 was organised jointly by HDFC Bank, HDFC Capital and HDFC AMC, with active support from HDFC Life, HDFC Ergo, HDFC Securities and HDB Financial Services. The initiative was conceived as a platform to recognise early-stage startups and enable meaningful collaboration between founders and HDFC Group companies. In previous editions, the programme has helped identify high-potential ventures such as QNu Labs, a pioneer in quantum-safe cybersecurity, in which HDFC Bank subsequently invested. The Group also supports young ventures through Parivartan, its CSR arm, by partnering with leading incubators across India.
Speaking at the event, Ashish Parthasarthy, Group Head of Branch Banking, Payments, Treasury, Liability Products, Marketing, Virtual Channels and Infrastructure at HDFC Bank, highlighted the Group’s ongoing commitment to fostering India’s next generation of corporations. He emphasised that the bank’s StartUp BuildUp programme offers one-of-a-kind solutions, from customised current accounts to health cover, commercial cards and regulatory support for FDI and ODI transactions, designed to empower startups from the very beginning of their journey.
Navneet Munot, MD & CEO of HDFC AMC, noted that innovation continues to reshape every aspect of human progress — spanning finance, healthcare, deep tech, space technology and frontier sciences. He reiterated that HDFC Bank Group sees itself as a long-term partner in India’s innovation journey. At HDFC AMC, the mission remains to channel the country’s entrepreneurial energy into wealth creation for millions of Indians. He described HDFC Tech Innovators as a celebration of the visionaries shaping the future.
Vipul Roongta, CEO of HDFC Capital, underscored how technology and innovation are transforming the built world and redefining every step of the value chain. He reaffirmed the company’s commitment to future-ready business models and emerging technology-led solutions that support India’s transformation in the years ahead.
This year, the initiative broadened its horizons by including Defence and Space Tech as a new sector, recognising the crucial role these domains play in nation-building. Two special awards were also introduced for women entrepreneurs, acknowledging their rising presence and impact within the country’s startup ecosystem.
The event also featured a panel discussion titled “Architects of India’s Startup Ecosystem,” which brought together leading voices from across government, industry and venture capital. Among the speakers were Sanjiv, Joint Secretary at DPIIT; Air Vice Marshal Dhananjay V. Khot (Retd.), Director–Strategy and Planning at IN-SPACe; Shashank Kumar, Founder and Managing Director of Razorpay; Gautam Mago, General Partner at A91 Partners; Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures; and Sunali Rohra, Senior Executive Vice President at HDFC Bank. Their perspectives added depth to the conversation on India’s evolving innovation landscape.
With its continued commitment to collaboration, investment and knowledge-sharing, the HDFC Bank Group reinforces its role as a key enabler for startups building India’s future. HDFC Tech Innovators 2025 stands as a testament to this vision, celebrating innovation, encouraging entrepreneurship and empowering the leaders of tomorrow.
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